Circle Bar B Guest Ranch & Stables, Lodging and Events — Hotel in Isla Vista

Two night stay with a family of three. We live just over an hour away so we are very familiar with the area. Location is about 11 miles north of Santa Barbara. Goleta beach offramp. A mostly one lane paved road leads to the foothills of a coastal mountain where the property is located (elevation 750 feet). Area is heavily forested and steep. Trails abound. There is a small stream through the property but it was only a trickle this time of year (the waterfall which is the one of the main attractions of the property, was a moss covered trickle). The ranch has apparently been with one family since the 1930s. The property is extremely well maintained and spotlessly clean. ||The main ranch house has a reception, moderate size sitting area with fireplace (not functional this time of year) and a bar. The dining area is moderate size with plastic tables covered with table cloth. Breakfast and dinner are served here. Breakfast was potatoes, bacon, small pancakes, scramble eggs, fruits, yogurt, granola, juice, coffee. All served by servers who made sure to only serve a very small amount of each item. Dinner was mac n cheese, salad, BBQ chicken, beef and one type of dessert. While they said they BBQ the food, it did not have a BBQ taste at all.||Various types of rooms and cabins spread up the slope. Our room had one king and a loft bed. The loft is reached with a ladder (not a stairs). It is a small space next to the ceiling with one bed. There are three windows but only two open. This is important because heat of the room rises and it can get hot there. The room has A/C but to bring the loft temp down makes the room too cold. The room was average hotel size but nicely appointed and very clean and modern. There was a wood burning, modern fireplace but not operative this time of year. Bathroom was spacious and modern. TV had many stations. Mobile phone reception is zero on this property but they have good wifi throughout the structures. Note that there is no house keeping/room cleaning. We needed a change of towels, and while they did oblige, the man that changed the towels questioned why we needed it and seemed reluctant. The room had its own porch with two wooden chairs. There is barely any "canyon" view or any view other than brush and trees. There is a moderate size pool and jacuzzi (both well maintained). I will say that the property is very quiet and relaxing. But while there is horseback riding (extra charge of $150/pp) there is little else in the way of activities. We drove a half hour to Santa Ynez valley vineyards and did some wine tasting and picnic - we highly recommend visiting the vinyards.||Cons|Staff were mostly friendly. However, there was a staff member (I believe also a member of the family that owns the property) who gave a hard time about changing our bath towels and when we requested table seating change he simply did not seem to care about customer service (the table we wanted remained empty the rest of the evening). When we offered some feedback to him on our last day he listened and then walked away.||But the REAL BIG, BIG NEGATIVE was the cost! One reviewer on TripAdvisor noted that he felt ripped off at $400+/night. Imagine how we felt at $900/nt! I think they use some form of dynamic pricing for popular weekends. OK, of course I knew how much this was going to cost before I arrived. But I thought it might be a lot more amenities/luxury to the property to make it worth it. It definitely was not. The Ritz Carlton in Santa Barbara charges roughly the same price as Circle Bar but they provide luxurious accomodations without...

Our family just stayed for the weekend at Circle Bar B, and we were so happy we did!

The drive from Orange County is not too bad, but we felt like we had traveled back in time. As you exit the 101 onto Refugio road the terrain gets increasingly more rustic as you draw closer to the ranch. Once we checked in, we made our way to our room, which was very spacious and perfect for our family. I especially loved the front porch and adirondack chairs - evenings with my book and a cocktail, or backgammon with my husband - or mornings with a cup of coffee and the great view of the walnut and olive trees and the surrounding mountains.

Dinner wasn't fancy, but it was really good. Great salad bar, and the communal dining gives you the opportunity to meet fellow travelers. Perfect ranch style food (I need the spicy baked beans recipe!) Some of the best tri-tip I've had. And the dining staff is so friendly. They even pack you a sack lunch to take with you so you don't have to be back in the dining room for lunch at any particular time, which was nice so we could venture out. Ironically, the only venturing we did was to lay in the grass under a walnut tree and take a nice nap! Perfect!

Spoke with owner Jim about his long, adventurous life and his incredible love affair with his wife Betty, who sadly passed away in the Spring of 2016. My conversation w/Jim was one of the special memories of this weekend, as were our many encounters with Henry - Jim's son-in-law, and of course the cowboys and horses.

The cowboys are great at making inexperienced riders comfortable, and the trails are beautiful and filled w/stunning views. This is definitely the main activity at the ranch, and the operation is flawless and run very efficiently. The horses are so well-cared for and the cowboys all seem like family. My favorite thing was coming down in the late afternoon w/some apples, hoping we could feed the horses. Not only did one of the cowboys let us do that....but he took us up to watch the horses where they run free! These horses get to roam the 900+ acre mountainside in the evening, rather than be crammed in a stable. Unbelievable! This made me feel great for the horses. As one of the cowboys put it, "I wouldn't work anywhere where they could keep a horse in a cage. These horses are meant to run free." Right-on. Thank you Jimmy Anguiano (I hope I spelled that correctly!) He really took the time to teach us about the horses, how they are cared for at the ranch, the fire that threatened the ranch and stables last year, and how the staff and community rallied to save both! Truly amazing. This was our daughter's first time on a horse and I think this time spent with Jimmy really increased her understanding and bond with these majestic animals. Jimmy didn't have to do this for us - but he did - and that hour was by far our favorite time spent here.

Two very big thumbs up from our family....we can't wait for our next trip to Circle Bar B. We hope to make it an annual experience. Bring your cowboy boots, jeans, and prepare to journey backwards in time to a simpler, better way of living.

Bravo and kudos to everyone at Circle Bar B......we can't say THANK YOU enough - family memories like this are epic and meaningful, especially in this fast-paced "connected" life that usually leaves families longing for real connections - with each other, the land and the animals. We thank you for making us feel at home in your...

We had our wedding at Circle Bar B the last week of April and could not be happier with such an incredibly memorable weekend! Circle Bar B Ranch is such a special, peaceful and beautiful place on its own. To have a wedding there was truly the experience of a lifetime. In all honesty, this venue is not for someone looking to just let the venue take care of the whole wedding. It requires some planning and logistics but the trade off is that you get a stunning venue that is essentially a blank canvas for you and your guests to spend a whole weekend at. The Ranch can sleep over 50 guests in their beautiful and comfortable cabins. The rest of the guests get shuttled in. We had our guests come on Friday night for a welcome party as well as for the ceremony which we held on the grounds and the reception. The ranch is off the beaten path which makes it feel even more special and a huge rarity in Santa Barbara is that you can have amplified music until midnight! The food was absolutely INCREDIBLE! Even before we picked a venue, we were super nervous about our wedding food because we knew some of our guests were big foodies or even sommeliers and restaurateurs with James Beard Award nominations, all of them came up to use to RAVE about the food. The wine selection was also heavily complimented. Our guests raved about the kindness of the staff who really went above and beyond to take care of us and our guests. This was a weekend we didn't want to end. Days after the wedding, I'm still receiving texts from family and friends telling me they wish they were still at the ranch or talking about how they can't wait to go back for a night's stay and more tri-tip.

Look, Circle Bar B requires some work, but doesn't marriage? And just like your forever relationship, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. My wife and I will be coming back to the ranch as often as possible for years to come. It's truly that special! If you want a wedding surrounded in natural beauty that feels secluded and memorable with fantastic food and not just a few hours but a FULL weekend of memories,...